Archive for April 2013

So many of you have heard about my ebook that I have been working on, I have been putting it together over the past few months and it is finally here! You can check it out here

This guide is designed to help you navigate all the red tape when it comes to tiny housing. I have designed this manual to help you quickly familiarize yourself with some of the key bureaucratic road blocks, suggest possible pathways to building your home from the legal perspective, and several strategies to make it a success. If you are hoping to build a tiny house, this is information that you will need. For those who purchases this they will also get and additional 180 pages of reference materials and free updates on future versions!

This ebook came out of me trying to figure all this stuff out, after hours of working with local code enforcement, zoning, builders, trades people and tons of research we have this book. This guide also helps you navigate getting all your utilities setup, which is more complex that many think. The real strength of this is that I have actually been there and done this, so I grappled with the real world issues of tiny houses for you and shared them here to make living in a tiny house a success.

For anyone wanting to build and live in a tiny house, in the city or the country, this is a must read.

I found this project out of Italy working on small space design and was intrigued by it. The difference between this project, dubbed the Freedom Room, and the slew of others out there: it was designed by prisoners. A training program was created through a collaboration with the research center Cibicworkshop and the research and design cooperative Comodo to provide the necessary tools to the prisoners of Spoleto, Italy’s correctional facility to create functional, beautiful and innovative small space design.

While their motivation is driven by forced small space accommodation the project is a reflection of far-reaching opportunities. The collaborators envision the rise of new social dynamics and innovative solutions to re-shaping communities and neighborhoods. That’s definitely in line with what I heard Jay Shafer speak about at a workshop last summer. It’s what many small space designers and tiny house builders are searching for. A shift in consciousness and the wider societal embrace of less is more.

That such a project is coming out of a correctional facility really struck a cord with me. Prisons are places that are often tucked away and hidden from the daily life of citizens yet it’s impact and reflection on our society is poignant. That these inmates became the designers and project consultants of this prototype reflects innovation in design as well as social involvement and prison reform.

Some of the issues that small space design is addressing includes inflated housing markets, high unemployment, increased underemployment, capitalist consumerism and the overt display of materialism of McMansions among other ills. Many folks interested in tiny houses can attest to this, including myself. The Freedom Room is a project design based on living under restraint but has shown what ingenuity born of necessity can initiate. It can be directed for use in the everyday life of people around the world and the collaborators hope that the project will serve as inspiration not only for other prisons but all manners of needs within society. It is another model expressing the simplicity and beauty that small space design is capable of achieving across the societal board-from inmates, to student dormitories, to hotel rooms to tiny living spaces.

I find this project to be an inspiration in many ways. As a prototype it addresses the major issues of decent living within penitentiaries and educational rehabilitation of inmates within the prison system. It reflects the viability of small space design in ways I’d never even considered. That somehow gives me hope that, eventually, more and more people will come around, give tiny living a try themselves, whether that means 100, 300, 500 or 1000 sq. feet, and perhaps consider reducing their footprint and finding the joy in simpler living.

Your Turn!

I found this neat end table made from left over 2×2’s from a build. It was constructed by gluing and clamping the scraps together. If I were doing this, I’d probably take it a step further and sand the whole top level and smooth. The different grains of the wood are great and shows another way to use building scraps from your tiny house.

Today Tumbleweed sent out some study plans with an interesting twist, in them, they included a miniature cut out model that let’s you build a tiny house out of paper. It’s pretty fun and reminds me of when I was a kid and would build models and kit rockets. In the end you have a fun little tiny house. So at the bottom of the post is the file, but here are some photos.

I’d love for this to be my tiny home away from tiny home! This rescue vehicle, previously used by the German fire brigade, was converted into an off-road tiny house! Rugged but with all the amenities to make it a home including radiant floor heating, a heated towel bar in the bathroom and a floor fitted on custom made swings to keep the living space from tilting during travel! Who wouldn’t want to travel in this! A great option for folks who want a tiny house that has more of a camper ability to go anywhere anytime but doesn’t have the feel of an RV. Definitely a step up!

MAN FAE 1.36 Truck

Custom floor built to handle rough roads without tilting the living area.

The skylight is a great touch in the bathroom. Light in, condensation out.

Dining area with room for 4 to eat comfortably.

Additional awesomeness includes roof rack and hydraulic elevator mounted in the rear for carrying heavy gear. The vehicle has been tested in Italy, Albania, and Macedonia with great success. You can check out the travelogue here.